1.5yo Nephew on the Westerdam?

[James_TheVirus]

Hi everyone,

We are considering a cruise on the Westerdam in the Carribean leaving Dec. 24th of this year. The whole family wants to go...but we are worried that the 1.5year old won't have enough to keep himself occupied with.

Has anyone ever travelled with such a young child on a HAL cruise?

Thanks in advance!
James

[fann1sh]

My advice is to hurry on over to the Family Cruises forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=49

The challenges of caring for a child this age on a cruise are very similar no matter what cruise line you're on.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have seen lots of infants on ships -- some barely a year old -- and most with only their parents.

As you are going with family members there should be enough of you to keep him busy.

There aren't any children's program for someone so young.

From HAL's site:

Childcare & Youth Programs

Club Hal® Youth Program

Holland America Line has a youth program for guests ages 3-17*. Each ship is staffed with a professional Club HAL Director dedicated to making sure children have a great time. Some of the fun-filled activities include bingo for prizes, arts & crafts, special parties and much more. Each participant also receives a Club HAL t-shirt. An activity schedule for each age group will be delivered to your stateroom each evening.

Activities are offered for kids (ages 3-7), 'tweens (8-12) and teens (13-17). The program has an open door policy, which means participants may come and go as they please. All activities are supervised; however, the Club HAL Director is not responsible for any child if he/she chooses to leave the activity.

*On the Prinsendam, youth activities are offered for ages 5-17. All other ships offer youth activities for ages 3-17.

[fridayeyes]

Re: the kids' club - I can't guarantee this, but children under the minimum age are sometimes allowed to be in the club facility if accompanied at all times by an adult family member. This makes it nice to go watch a video or play with the toys.

The staff will fuss over the baby, and you'll have family to lean on for help with childcare. It's definitely do-able.

[c-cruise]

We cruised on HAL several times (including on the Westerdam) with our first daughter when she was that age and younger. Found have always found the crew to be wonderful and accommodating of toddlers and babies. Were able to use club HAL as long as one of us stayed with her. Frankly there is not much there for a 1 year old anyway, but it was nice to have a open kid friendly area for her to run around in for a bit.

I wouldn't worry about bringing a 1.5 year old along especially since it sounds like there will be a lot of family who could help out with watching him. In our experience it is a lot easier to cruise/travel with a child at that age then when they get to be 3/4ish. Definitely not as relaxing a vacation with a small child, but it's certainly doable.

Not sure what cabin type they are looking at, but on the Westerdam I would recommend the SS/SY verandah cabins. The extra space is very nice to have with a toddler to accommodate the crib, car seat, and other assorted gear that they need. There are several sets of connecting cabins in the SS category which might also be nice if there are grandparents etc. who might be helping out with the toddler.

[paryea]

We took my son on a 2 week Alaska cruise on the Statendam when he was a little younger than that. He had a great time. We would have liked it more if we had family with us, but we still had a great time. In fact we will be on the Westerdam for two weeks in November; just the three of us again. I brought lots of new toys and we spent lots of time "playing ping pong" on the Lido, playing with the big chess set, or chasing balloons in out of the way places. With plenty of family you should all enjoy your cruise.

As for using the Kid's Club space, I did take my son there once. On the Statendam they would let us go in there only when there weren't any organized activities going on. Basically only when no one else was using it. Of course I had to stay with him the whole time. It sort of worked, but the toys weren't really age appropriate and I didn't feel the need to go back.

[James_TheVirus]

My advice is to hurry on over to the Family Cruises forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=49

The challenges of caring for a child this age on a cruise are very similar no matter what cruise line you're on.

Thanks fann1sh, this link looks great. The forums are so extensive here that I didn't think there would be a whole forum just for the young'ins.

It'll be hard to convince the family to go the cruise route when a 1-year old is charged half an adult fare, not to mention only certain (more expensive) categories can accomodate the three people.

Is 3 years old the optimum time to start cruising with a little one? It seems that is when the little ones can start taking advantage of the kids programming.

[iceman93]

Is 3 years old the optimum time to start cruising with a little one? It seems that is when the little ones can start taking advantage of the kids programming.

Only if your objective is to get away from the kids. My daughter had two wonderful cruises before age 2, and was never bored. Kids at that age are amazed by the world around them, and there is plenty to see just exploring the ship. One on cruise my daughter was fascinated by escalators--I can't tell you how much time we spent just riding up and down the lower deck escalator with her!

And the experience you're providing is setting them up for a lifetime of wonder and exploration. Little ones are absolutely fawned over, both by the many grandparents aboard and the crew members who are reminded of their own little ones back in Indonesia or the Phillipines.

[McMer]

We just got back a few weeks ago from a Med. cruise on NA with the whole family. My youngest granddaughter was 14 mos. and was a great little traveler. The crew were all wonderful and attentive to her. She didn't really need any programmed activities as just the ship exploration was fun for her. She went on some of the shorter excursion, but on the longer ones, we kept her while the parents all went ashore. Take a look at the family boards - there are a lot of good shared ideas. Good luck.

[c-cruise]

It'll be hard to convince the family to go the cruise route when a 1-year old is charged half an adult fare, not to mention only certain (more expensive) categories can accomodate the three people.

Is 3 years old the optimum time to start cruising with a little one? It seems that is when the little ones can start taking advantage of the kids programming.

HAL usually has very good rates for 3rd/4th passengers. We are taking our two little ones in Feb and they are $99 ea in an SS cabin. You are looking at a holiday sailing though so the rate will undoubtedly be higher. There are plenty less expensive cabins that will accommodate a 3rd or 4th person. Take a look at the cat C and D cabins on main deck.

[Palmetto Lady]

My husband refused to travel with our children until they were out of diapers and ate regular food.